New Delhi: Dust at the Shakur Basti Railway Siding Yard has drawn directions for enforcement action after an inspection of the Punjabi Bagh pollution hotspot, with officials asked to coordinate with Northern Railway and address cement-handling and truck-parking activity.
Rupesh Kumar Thakur, CEO of the Delhi Urban Shelter Improvement Board and nodal secretary for the hotspot, directed Delhi Pollution Control Committee officials to issue challans under applicable regulations and, if necessary, initiate sealing proceedings through the prescribed process, an MCD release said on October 28.
Railway siding flagged as potential dust source
The siding is about 1,100 metres from the Punjabi Bagh hotspot. The release identified it as a potential major dust source and said Thakur expressed concern over accumulated dust dispersing into nearby areas.
The inspection covered an area within a three-kilometre radius of the hotspot. Officials reviewed the hotspot monitoring station, a construction-and-demolition waste site and its sprinkler system, and the deployment of two tractors to keep exposed ground moist at the Punjabi Bagh Dussehra Ground.
Free CNG and electric cremation facilities
At Punjabi Bagh Cremation Ground, Thakur reviewed measures to reduce emissions and welcomed the provision of CNG and electric cremation facilities free of cost to encourage wood-free alternatives.
He directed the MCD, DPCC, PWD, Delhi government, traffic police and Railways to coordinate dust suppression, site maintenance and timely enforcement. West Zone Deputy Commissioner Col Vinod Atri, Western Range DCP (Traffic) Ranbir Singh and other officials joined the inspection.
